Published 28-11-2017
The new Honda Civic Type R has won big at the BBC Top Gear magazine Car of the Year awards, scooping up Hot Hatch of the Year, International Editors’ Car of the Year and the overall prize, Car of the Year.
The awards issue of BBC Top Gear magazine, the world’s largest monthly car magazine, is an annual celebration of the very best cars of the year. In 2017 the awards went global, with all 22 editors of the international editions voting. So it’s pretty big news that the new Civic Type R has been added to Honda’s proud lineage of award-winning cars.
It’s been a stellar year for Honda’s hot hatch. In April, Honda announced that the new Civic Type R had set a new front-wheel-drive lap record at the Nürburgring. Two months later it received rave reviews from Auto Express, Autocar, What Car?, Car Magazine and Evo, all of which you can see here. And in August, the Type R tamed the EuroSpeedway Lausitz with professional racing driver Hannes Danzinger. Which brings us to now: the 2017 Honda Civic Type R winning not one, but three awards at the Top Gear magazine Car of the Year awards.
Built in Swindon, the Civic Type R shares the same fundamentals as the new Civic hatchback. It’s been engineered from the ground up to deliver the most rewarding drive in the hot-hatch segment – both on road and on the racetrack.
“The Civic Type R isn’t just the best Hot Hatch of the Year, it’s the best Car of the Year," said BBC Top Gear magazine. “It’s addictive, rhythmic and devastatingly rapid; a true hero for the masses delivering accessibility and madness in one package. The thrill comes from the sheer single-mindedness of it.”
“This is absolutely outstanding to pick up three wins at the BBC Top Gear magazine Car of the Year awards,” added Phil Webb, Head of Cars at Honda UK. “And it is a truly global award with the international editors voting for the car as well. The kudos for picking up all three honours needs to go to the designers, the engineers and the associates at the factory that build the cars – without them none of this would have happened. This is a fantastic way to round off 2017!”
Available for under £300 a month, the new Civic Type R has a top speed of 169mph and can do the 0-62mph sprint in just 5.8 seconds. The power comes from the 2.0-litre VTEC TURBO engine that has been optimised and refined to produce 320 PS with peak torque of 400 Nm.